While FTX is relatively new, it ranks among the world’s largest cryptocurrency exchanges.
FTX provides a web platform and mobile app that lets you buy, sell, and trade cryptocurrencies. While it is possible to trade and swap coins on FTX, the exchange also has features other exchanges shy away from.
It is incredible that FTX was established in May 2019 and by January 2022, it had 23.1 million visitors and a valuation of over $32 billion. Among many crypto enthusiasts, it has become the go-to trading platform because of its wide range of services.
Due to its extensive selection of over 300 cryptocurrencies, FTX appeals to both novice and expert crypto traders. It offers spot trading, as well as futures, stocks, and leveraged tokens for experienced traders.
It is a prominent platform for derivatives trading, an aspect of cryptocurrency investors which is popular lately. It also has volatility products and NFTs which many platforms don’t have.
Alameda Research is a quantitative trading firm bringing expertise from Wall Street and Silicon Valley to provide liquidity in crypto markets worldwide, it is one of the key investors for FTX.
The main FTX platform is available worldwide. It includes a larger selection of coins and more features. The more basic FTX.US is available to U.S. customers in all states except New York.
FTT token
The FTT token is FTX’s native utility token and it is the backbone of their ecosystem.
It provides users with numerous benefits as it can be used to reduce fees and earn interest on the platform, for socialized gains through the FTT insurance fund, using the token as collateral for futures trading.
With over 250 million tokens in circulation, the FTT asset is one of the top 50 cryptocurrencies by market cap today. To enhance the asset’s scarcity FTX will ultimately burn about 50% of the supply.
FTX lists spot FTT/USD, FTT/USDT, and FTT/BTC markets. These markets are standard two-way spot markets that can be freely traded. Like any other cryptocurrency, FTT’s price is volatile, and it trades across numerous exchanges and platforms besides FTX.
The FTX platform allows its users to unlock extra benefits by staking their FTT. These benefits include:
- New maker fee schedule (compounds with standard discounts for holding FTT).
- Bonus votes on polls tied to launching new financial products and services.
- Increased Serum (SRM) airdrop rewards.
- Higher referral rebate rates, yielding a better percentage of fees generated through referrals.
Users who do not hold FTT will be subject to the standard maker and taker fees, based on 30-day trading volume. It is possible to achieve 0% maker fees, but taker fees will never go below 0.04%. Achieving those levels will require $25 million in monthly volume or more, though.
FTX products
As a trader when choosing a platform to use, the range of products offered by that particular platform plays a pivotal role in your decision. These are some of the products found on the platform:
- Futures trading — numerous currencies are supported, amongst these are currencies that would usually not have futures or perpetuals.
- Spot trading — users have over 500 trading markets to choose from.
- Options trading — it is similar to derivatives, with the difference being that users do not need to purchase the underlying asset when the contract expires. The platform only supports Bitcoin options at this time.
- Leveraged tokens — BULL and BEAR tokens exist for most assets, giving 3x exposure to upward or downward momentum. HEDGE and HALF tokens offer -1x and +0.5x respectively. BULL, BEAR, and HEDGE tokens will reinvest the money or sell positions to maintain target leverage and help trades avoid liquidation risk.
- Volatility tokens — FTX volatility tokens get their exposure to an asset’s implied volatility using FTX MOVE contracts. The MOVE contracts – daily, weekly, or quarterly – can benefit those who expect significant market changes or prolonged stability. Volatility tokens let users go long or short and reflect daily returns of 1x long volatility of BTC or 1x short volatility for inverse tokens.
- Prediction markets — users can “bet” on specific predictions – although the market is limited – tied to real-world events.
- NFTs — FTX.US lets users deposit and mint non-fungible tokens for trading purposes. The feature is available only in the US and is not accessible on FTX.com.
- Stocks — users can gain exposure to stocks – and sometimes futures tied to said stocks – through USD trading.
- OTC Trading — this is a tool for institutional traders investing large amounts of money on major digital assets. Depositing and withdrawing OTC funds can be done through an FTX wallet, and OTC trading has no additional fees except the spread.
Fees
The zero deposit or withdrawal fees for transactions on the platform is one of the best things about FTX. There is an exception whereby some users may pay a 0.1% fee when their deposit or withdrawal exceeds the trading volume.
For fiat currency withdrawals below $10,000, a standard fee of $75 is in effect. Other fees to consider:
- Spot trading fees — deducted from the asset you purchase. For sell orders, the fee is charged in the other currency in the trading pair.
- Leveraged tokens — a 0.1% fee to create and redeem tokens. Users must also pay a daily management fee of 0.03%.
- Perpetual contracts —a funding fee is in effect, yet it is paid to holders at the other end of the contract
- Leverage fees —Higher leverage exposure will incense trading fees by up to 0.03%. The higher fees fund the insurance trading fund. However, it is not applicable when using leveraged BTC and ETH perpetuals.
- MOVE contracts: variable, dependent on the underlying asset’s price.
Security
Security is the most important aspect you should consider while choosing a new crypto exchange and FTX promises not to let you down on that front.
It has full external backing of all hot wallet funds, a custom-built hot and cold wallet solution, and two-factor authentication (2FA) for each account. As a user, you can further secure your account with an optional 2FA and password for crypto withdrawals.
FTX in a nutshell
FTX’s user interface is easy to navigate on mobile or desktop and has dark, black, or light modes, to accompany the wide range of products found on the platform.
It is very easy to access all products, with the only downside being that there is no 24/7 phone support or live chat. Additionally, FTX ensures that its users never get lost by offering a variety of tutorials and articles explaining the exchange’s features.
Find FTX on social media:
Website | Twitter | Facebook | Telegram
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